Bonino's late goal leads Pens to Game 1 win

The Penguins started the Stanley Cup Final in possibly the best way. With a win. There had been a lot of talk before the series about the match-up and how it would work out. The Penguins will have planned for this series knowing they're so close to the ultimate prize. With the opening two games on home ice the need to win both games was huge.

The Sharks started the game slowly and the Penguins enjoyed a comfortable first period and thanks to two goals from Bryan Rust and Connor Sheary they lead 2-0 at the end of the first. Bryan Rust has had a superb post season and really made a mark on the team scoring his 6th goal and his third in the last two games following his double against Tampa in Game 7.

Rust took the puck up the boards and worked Braun on a pinch to get himself space. Schultz's shot from the other side rebounded off Jones and into Rust's path for an easy tap-in. The pure elation and joy after the goal was really quite something. Sheary's goal came just a minute later.

Crosby advanced with the puck into the corner before turning on a dime, he dished the puck out to Sheary who was wide open in front of the net. Instead of shooting first time Sheary hesitated briefly to open up the shot before rifling it down Jones side. The Penguins speed really hurt the Sharks in the first period and they deserved their two goal lead.

The Penguins and 2-0 leads are a weird mix though. If they're behind, they'll catch up. If they're ahead, they'll probably let the other team in and that is what happened. The Sharks responded with a high shooting second period showing their first glimpse of their offensive prowess. The Sharks powerplay brought them in the game after some neat passes. Hertl's shot from along the line, next to the goal, crept into the net through Murray's pads.

The Sharks then scored a goal that we're familiar to seeing Fleury give up. A wraparound. This is one part of his game that Murray needs to work on. Burns shot from the point ricocheted behind the net and Marleau picked it up. Without even thinking he wrapped around the net and past Murray before he could react to tie it up.

The third period was the Penguins, they responded themselves with their own heavy shooting period. It took a long time but they finally struck through Bonino with just over 2 minutes remaining. Letang battled along the boards with Burns who lost his stick and telegraphed a beautiful pass to Bonino in front of Jones. Bonino lifted it over Jones and embraced his team. The Penguins would hold on for the game win.

The Penguins will be pleased with their performance but they will know that the Sharks will come back stronger and they will need to be ready. Winning Game 2 would put them in a great position and the odds will be in their favour. Game 2 is tomorrow.

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How the Penguins will beat San Jose

The Stanley Cup Finals start tomorrow and both Penguins and Sharks fans cannot wait. This weekend is going on too long. The excitement is building and both teams are ready to go. They could have started the series tonight but the NHL didn't for some reason. I suppose they wanted to have slightly longer for the players to recover.

The Penguins have been in this position before and whether either team has been keeping an eye on the other won't be known until after the series. But, both teams employ coaches who are not afraid to make adjustments to win games where needed. DeBoer managed to take the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals three years ago. Sullivan has never been to the Finals in both his playing and coaching career.

The Tampa Bay series show Sullivan's willingness to make chances and adjustments. He changed the team to react to Tampa's own speed advantages and also on their penchant on using breakout passes. The Lightning likely identified that, for example, Olli Maatta has struggled on breakouts and he was beaten a few times in this series.

The Penguins will no doubt be aware of the Sharks offensive prowess with Thornton, Marleau, Pavelski, Couture and Burns all able to do damage. They have decent depth but I would give that edge to the Penguins. Where the Sharks enjoy most of their offensive talents is on the man advantage.

The Sharks have the second best powerplay throughout the playoffs so far at 27.0%. That is a high watermark and only behind the Chicago Blackhawks, who were eliminated in the first round, with 31.6%. The Penguins do have a strong penalty kill, the fifth best throughout the playoffs at 83.6%. San Jose sit two spots behind on 80.4%. As strong as our penalty kill may be, I don't want to see it tested if it doesn't need to be. The Sharks have a real chance to grab and win games based on that. The Penguins need to play it safe and make sure they don't take any stupid penalties.

The shot volumes are something that will be interesting to watch as the series goes on. So far in the playoffs the Penguins have taken 862 shots at even strength. The Sharks have been on the receiving end of 863 shots. The Penguins have regularly gotten over 30 shot on opponents whereas the Sharks only managed that once in the Western Conference final.

The Penguins are also impressive at the other end. They've been able to adjust and prevent teams for getting chances that other teams would cough up. This has been accomplished by taking away the pass and forcing teams to shoot through bodies from further out giving the Pens an easier chance of blocking or deflecting shots away from Murray. Reducing the number of shots the Sharks can take will reduce the effectiveness of their big players.

The biggest way that the Penguins can hurt the Sharks though would be by using the same attribute they have used against the Lightning, the Capitals and the Rangers. Their speed. The Sharks are no slouches, they aren't molasses like the Rangers were. They have their own speedy players and will be able to cope but whether they'd be able to cope with four speedy lines is another thing.

The Penguins caused all their previous opponents issues with their speed. It messes with the opponents plans as trying to play physical just doesn't work. By the time you can hit someone they're gone. The Rangers tried this but it failed. The best way of combating the speed is by employing a trap and clogging the netural zone. But, in doing so you reduce your offensive capablities and leave yourself open to the dump and chase.

Whatever happens in this series, it will be worth watching. I can only unfortunately watch Game 3, 4 and 6 due to work commitments and time constraints but if the Penguins play the right strategy and keep to their game then they will be fine. I'm calling whoever wins this to do it in 6. I don't think we'll see a sweep.

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Pens heading to Finals on Rust's double

The Penguins are returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since their success in 2009 where they defeated the Detroit Red Wings in 7 games. This time round Crosby and co will be going for their cup against the impressive and dangerous San Jose Sharks who qualified by beating the St.Louis Blues in 6 games.

The Penguins came into this game on a high after their dominant Game 6 win in Tampa Bay, despite their record in past Game 7's at home being poor. The Bolts were boosted by the news of Stamkos returning before the game but he was limited to third line time and was most ineffectual. Not surprising really seeing as it was his first game in over two months.

The games first period was a very chippy affair with the puck bouncing around more than a ball in a pinball machine. Some plays were being built but most moves were tame and not challenging either goaltender. Tampa started the better and controlled the zone for a while but failed to really challenge Murray early on. As the period dragged on Pittsburgh improved and by the end they were starting to pepper Vasilevskiy.

The break did Tampa well but from that point on the Penguins system continually shut them down offensively and restricted their shot attempts. At the other end Vasilevskiy was doing his best to keep the Bolts in the game but with 21 shots by Pittsburgh in the second period he was unlikely to keep all of them out. The first goal by Bryan Rust will be one he would have wanted to stop. Rust received the puck from the wing just ahead of the blue line, he skated forward and shot over Vasilveskiy to give the Penguins the lead.

The Bolts were given hope for a brief period, just over 9 minutes into the period. Drouin carried the puck from the right side of the Penguins to the left and did a short of sling shot over Murray's top right shoulder. He didn't even look at his shot and it was an impressive finish. However, the Bolts were quickly behind again with Rust scoring his second. This one a lot more "rough". A tap at a loose puck which bounced back off the boards to Vasilevskiy and crept in behind him.

The Penguins had plenty of opportunities in the third period to end the game and they really should have added more goalies. Vasilevskiy was incredible for the Lightning but they just fell short. The Penguins defence definitely gave me some frights near the end. Crosby predictable lifted the Prince of Wales Trophy. I'm glad he did as it means the whole thing about lifting the trophy or not is pointless as  San Jose didn't touch theirs.

The Stanley Cup finals will begin Monday in Pittsburgh. I really think this will be a close series and the winner will do it in six. If Pittsburgh don't win, I'll be upset but I won't be mad. I never expected we'd get this far and San Jose will be worthy winners if they do it. But, lets hope we don't come to that. Go Pens!

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Pens deliver on promise, return to Pittsburgh for Game 7

Before Game 6 Evgeni Malkin delivered a promise to the Penguins fans. They would return to Pittsburgh and they would win Game 6. Some would have been a bit wary of saying such a thing but a dominant comment like that seems to have had an effect as the Penguins dominated Game 6 with ease.

Pittsburgh were lucky early in the game after Tampa appeared to take the lead off Drouin's early goal. The Lightning gained a 3 man presence in the zone and after a neat pass across the net Murray was out of position. Drouin tapped the puck into an empty net to seemingly give the  Lightning the win. However, Sullivan correctly challenged the call and it was called back to give the Pens some luck and a reset.

From that point, they didn't waste it. Kessel scored his fourth goal of the play off series and his 9th in total for the whole post season with a neat batted goal in mid-air on a 5-on-3 powerplay. The first goal came late in the game and Kessel was lucky to get the right deflection after Crosby's pass opened him up.

In the second period the Penguins continued to press and Kris Letang scored to make amends for his poor performance in Game 5. His shot was screened in front of Vasilevskiy who had no chance of stopping it. Sidney Crosby then scored possibly one of the best goal of this post season. He received the puck on the blue line and completely blew Stralman's tires as he eased past before shooting through Vasilevskiy's five hole with only 26 seconds left in the second period to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead.

Tampa, as expected, fought back. They weren't going to go down without a fight and Brian Boyle was quite lucky for his first goal just over 5 minutes into the third period. Boyle's shot was deflected in by Phil Kessel's errant stick to give the Bolts hope and they made it a 1 goal game just 8 minutes later. Boyle again. This time his shot from just outside he face-off zone went high on Murray and pinged in off the bar.

Some might have thought that the Penguins were going to blow it, like they blew the leads against the Lightning in Game 6.  But this was a different response. With Tampa putting on the pressure it left their defence exposed and Bryan Rust received a pass at the logo and skated down the ice before dekeing around Vasilveskiy to restore Pittsburgh's two goal lead. Bonino added an empty net later on to settle it.

If the Penguins can play like this in Game 7 then they will take it. They need their stars to show again and if they do that then they can feel confident in their chances. The Lightning will come hard, they won't want to blow two chances to knock the Penguins off. The first period will be huge, as will the rest of the game.

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Pens on the brink after blowing lead

The Penguins are on the brink of elimination for the first time in this post season after a 4-3 OT loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This loss leaves the Lightning one win away from returning to the Stanley Cup finals for back-to-back years. The Penguins will have to dig deep and win on the road, a tough ask in such an important game.

Sullivan made a big call before the game to switch from Matt Murray to Marc Andre Fleury. Murray, who has done well in this post season, was being beaten in a regular way by the Lightning and wasn't adjusting. With Fleury on the sidelines he made the same call that I think many others would make. It didn't quite work though as Fleury conceded 4+ goals for the 28th time in the play offs.

The game started out at a tentative pace with only 5 shots being recorded after around 5 minutes and in total the first period only ended up seeing just 12 shots in the first period. It took until the very end for Dumoulin to become the first player from Maine to score in the Stanley Cup play offs.

Pittsburgh started the second period strongly with Patric Hornqvist scoring just 1 minute 30 seconds in. Crosby made a great play down the puck to keep it and played it back to Maatta who shots was redirected by Hagelin to Hornqvist to pot in. They also ended the period strong, with Kunitz scoring on a Malkin rebound.

The only problem was the middle bit which saw the Lightning score twice just 1 minute 10 apart with Killorn and Kucherov. It was a soft goal for Fleury to give up with Killorn scoring from the half-boards to beat Fleury low. Kucherov scored shortly after off a nice Namestikov feed to tie it before Kunitz's buzzer beater.

The Bolts would have felt they could have won the game in the third period had Ryan Callahan been more lucky but Kucherov's wraparound goal with just over 3 minutes left was enough to take it to overtime before a Garrison shot deflected in off Tyler Johnson's rear and past Fleury to put the Penguins on the brink.

The Penguins will need to regroup as their performance in the third wasn't good enough and they need to re-learn the defensive skills that they used so well in the first round of the play offs against the Rangers. They can beat the Bolts but if they play like they did today and in Game 4 then they'll be toast.

The biggest question will be if Sullivan sticks with a poor Marc-Andre Fleury who could have played his last Penguins game, or go with Murray after a short break with the hope he has learned and is able to counter the high shots better. We'll find out tomorrow.

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Pens rally too late, series tied at desmond.

The Penguins tried to rally from a 4-0 hole but left it too late in Game 4 in Tampa Bay to end up losing 4-3 to result in tying the series back up at desmond. Matt Murray was pulled for the first time in his Penguins career in this game and Fleury came into relief, stopping 7 shots to leave questions going into Game 5 on Sunday night.

The Penguins had a rotten start with the Lightning taking the lead just 27 seconds in off Callahan's deflected shot. Nothing Murray could do about it but the Penguins seemed contrived to sit in their own zone for the first minutes and gifted the Lightning a power play. Thankfully, they avoided the 2-0 hole for a while.

The Penguins managed to come out of their shell for a good while after and managed to start testing Vasilevskiy but yet again the Penguins failed to take their chances and regretted it when Sustr walked past the defence and potted the Lightning's 2nd with just over 5 minutes left in the first.

The Penguins would have hoped for a better second period than the one they got but they again continued to pressure and forecheck the Lightning players, a strong part in their game. The downfall were weak penalties, although Letang's was questionable. Drouin scored the Bolts first power play goal of the night after some neat passing from the Lightning and if not for the Penguins strong kill, it would have been more. It wasn't until Johnson added a fourth late in the period that the Penguins started to claw it back.

After Matt Murray, Phil Kessel has been the star player for  Pittsburgh. He has shown up time and time again when it matters and he did it again to get the Penguins on the board with his 8th goal of the play offs. He took a wicked wrister from the point which beat Vasilevskiy low and gave the Penguins hope.

Evgeni Malkin, mostly missing until now, scored with just under 9 minutes remaining and made it a two goal game. Most would still have pooh-poohed the idea of a Penguins come back but Kunitz snapped a goal in on a resulting powerplay to give them hope. Sadly, Vasilevskiy shut up shop despite the heavy Penguins pressure to guide his team to a win and to tie the series up.

Game 5 is Sunday and I think we'll see a response from the Pittsburgh. I don't want to go to Tampa Bay needing to win to stay in the competition, that could be deadly. It will be interesting to see if Murray or Fleury start Game 5 as well, watch this space.

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HBK line clicks, Pens lead 2-1

The Penguins owe a lot to the HBK line, that's Hagelin, Bonino and Kessel if you didn't know. In Game 3 they stamped a mark on it and made it there own to march the Penguins to a 2-1 series lead. Pittsburgh's 4-2 win last night was the first time that Tampa had lost two games in a row in the play offs and the first time they had been behind in a play off series this year.

The game was a goaltending masterclass for a good period of the game until Hagelin broke the deadlock with just 10 seconds left in the second. Although the Bolts had enjoyed a lot of early possession and jumped to a 7-2 shot lead they failed to take their chances and Hagelin made them pay. It was a superb time to score, right before the break. Kessel broke down the wing and had a shot on Vasilevski rebound out to Hagelin on his door step.

The Penguins struck thrice in the third period and it was the HBK line, Shawn Michaels approved, that gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Bonino's hand work with the stick has been exceptional lately and with Stralman's back turned to Kessel he picked him out for Kessel to rifle it into the top right. The Tampa Lightning struck just 14 seconds on a Johnson rush through the defence.

Pittsburgh have been excellent at restricting Tampa to their shot totals in this series and again today they were restricted to just 28 this time round. Higher than the last two games at 21 and 20, but still fairly low. Pittsburgh enjoyed a heavy shot dominance with their 48 shots and they made them count.

The Penguins power play, which has been much maligned, clicked to restore a 2 goal lead 10 minutes into the third. Crosby scored of nice give and go with Malkin to have his 2nd Game winning goal in back-to-back games. Kunitz scored later and Palat reduced it to a 4-2 game just before the end but the damage was won and the Penguins won the game.

The last two games have shown superb management by Sullivan in his management of the lines and how he adjusts his team. Cooper hasn't done that and after the game sounded a little defeated. Bishop almost likely won't be in net for Game 4 which represents a huge opportunity for Pittsburgh to get a stranglehold on this series heading home for Sunday's Game 5.

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Crosby heroics in OT tie the series

Before Game 2 Sidney Crosby had gone 8 games without a goal in the play offs. He snapped that at the best possible time to tie the series up going to Tampa for Game 3 and 4 this Wednesday and Friday.

The Penguins dominated and restricted the Lightning to just 21 shots in the whole game, through the two games they have restricted them to 41 shots which, for a team as deadly going forward as the Lightning, is brilliant. The Penguins out shot the Lightning heavily but as always they fail to make their dominance count more.

Saying that, the Penguins did enjoy a good start racing into a 2-0 lead just over nine minutes into the first period. Old man Cullen continued his excellent season to score on a juicy rebound offered up by Vasilevskiy. That was Cullen's 4th goal in these play offs and his production is testament to the depth that Pittsburgh has.

Phil Kessel lead the Penguins again later that period with a goal of a swift passing move from Bonino in front of net. Kessel shot into the fairly wide open net to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. The Lightning tied it up at the end of the first but they were a tad lucky at Stralman's goal to make it 2-1 appeared to go through Murray's glove. Drouin scored the tying goal shooting over Murray's shoulder with under a minute left in the first.

Murray had a fairly shaky start but rebounded to stop the remainder of the Bolts shots and back-stop the Penguins to a win. The winning goal didn't come until overtime with Sidney Crosby scoring his first ever play off overtime goal, something that, oddly, Lemieux never achieved.

The Penguins took the puck straight from face-off and advanced into the zone. Rust carried the puck in and he could have shot himself but instead he dropped the pass to Crosby to rifle it over Vasilevskit and in from a knee drop shot. Crosby needed that goal and the Penguins will hope it brings his production back. The same needs to happen to Malkin. Game 3 is Wednesday and if the Penguins could win that and take a 2-1 lead that would be huge.

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Lightning take Game 1

The Pittsburgh Penguins and  Tampa Bay Lightning started their Eastern Conference Final series last night with Game 1 being played at the Consol Energy Center. Going into this, neither team had trailed yet during a series in these play offs and both had strong home ice records which would make it a key part of the game.

The Penguins wrapped up their second round series last Tuesday and so have had a shorter lay off time than the Tampa Bay Lightning who finished their series earlier, on the Sunday. The rest definitely showed as the Lightning looked fresher and more aware and alert than the Penguins.

This game was marred by some bad hits throughout the game. The first was by Ryan Callahan on Kris Letang early in the first period.  Letang was playing the puck near the boards and Callahan came up from behind and shoved Letang into the boards by leading with his elbow into his back. The Bolts were assessed a 5 minute power play, which the Penguins couldn't convert on. Letang had to go off for checks but returned later.

Chris Kunitz for the Penguins delivered a late, questionable hit on Tyler Johnson late in the first himself. With Johnson on the boards Kunitz braced for a hit but he stuck his leg out and caught Johnson with his knee. I would have expected both hits to receive supplemental discipline from the league but Callahan was cleared and we haven't heard about Kunitz.

Tampa Bay had to changed goalies late in the first with Ben Bishop being stretchered off after a suspected knee injury that kept him out of the rest of the game. Andrei Vasilevskiy came in for relief. He looked calm and assured in goal but the Penguins didn't test him as much as they should have.

The Bolts three goals in this game showed the difference, tonight at least. The Bolts are a fast team, much faster than the  Rangers or the Capitals and the Penguins will need to get used to that. But the Penguins defence needs to do more to prevent clean breakaways, like the one that befouled Maatta for Killorn's opening goal. The Bolts move the puck around a lot better than us and puck possession is going to be key in this series. Their power play goal from Palat showed us that.

The Penguins did manage to save some face, scoring on a power play to at least get on the board. But the Bolts had done their damage and yet again, Crosby and Malkin were silent in the play offs. That needs to change, they need to produce.

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Pens top Capitals in overtime, advance to Eastern Finals

The Pittsburgh Penguins worked their magic in overtime of Game 6 to eliminate the Washington Capitals after beating them 4-3 in a rough and tumble game that tested everyone's emotions, especially the players. The Penguins and Capitals came into this game with the Capitals looking to push the series to a 7th game at home after winning 3-1 in Game 5 to avoid elimination for one more night.

The Penguins didn't play well in that game and they made up for it tonight, coming out of the blocks racing and putting the Capitals on the back foot early. One of Pittsburgh's strengths so far in these play offs have been their strength in depth and whilst the likes of Crosby and Malkin have been kept mostly quiet in this series, others have picked up the mantle.

The line of Hagelin, Bonino and Kessel has been a revelation and it combines three players that Jim Rutherford traded for this season, which highlights part of the excellent job he has done in turning this team around from a run of the mill middling team to a cup contender. That line in question was the big contributor tonight with Kessel having a three point night.

Kessel got the party the started with a wicked wrister on a screen by Alzner completely surprising Braden Holtby. The Penguins power play, much maligned in this series finally connected in the second period on a double minor. In fact, the Penguins scored 33 seconds apart. Kessel got his second goal of the game after collecting the puck and wraping it around a sprawling Braden Holtby. Hagelin then got a tip on a point shot from Olli Maatta, who was returning tonight.

With a 3-0 lead the Penguins looked comfortable but the Capitals aren't a team that quit. For the rest of the period they chipped away and got on the board late on a one timer that beat Murray. This game the Capitals something to play with and with 7 minutes done in the third period Justin "Game 7" Williams scores to make it a 1 goal with a shot over Murray's shoulder.

The Penguins panicked, they then took three straight delay of games and gave the Capitals an ease out into the game. Carlson tied the game on a 5-on-3 and that was enough to stretch the game to overtime. Although the Pens eventually won through Bonino's goal they could have won earlier had Beagle not dived on the line to deflect a Daley shot out.

The Penguins kept pushing though and eventually won it. Bonino stayed in front of the net and Hagelin's shot on Holtby was rebounded to him for him an ease stab into the net. The Penguins were the better team in this series and deserved to go through. The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to be a tough challenge as they have managed to get this far without two of their key players. Whoever wins has a great chance of winning the Cup, lets hope it is the Pens. The first game is on Friday night.

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Pens fail to show, lose Game 5

The series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals isn't over yet. The Caps staved off elimination on home ice in Game 5 to a tune of a 3-1 victory to prevent Pittsburgh forcing a handsake line, for one more game at least. The Penguins performance was below par and Sullivan was not happy about it.

The Capitals dominated the beginning of the game and there was an air of expectancy about who would score the first goal and, sure enough, Ovechkin scored on a rocket bomb from his spot on the power play. Despite the eye test showing the Capitals enjoying extended zone time in the Penguins area they were behind on shots for the whole game and only ended up with 19 to Pittsburgh's 31.

Not that the shot count mattered as Washington scored thrice but a lot of their shot attempts were being blocked valiantly by the Penguins defencemen or being sent wide of the net. Pittsburgh managed to get their first power play goal of the series just 7 minutes into the period with Kunitz picking up off a Kessel rebound and prodding home in front of Holtby.

That goal was about as good as it got for the Penguins all game. Their usually strong penalty kill struggled in this one and gave up another one to the Capitals power play with T.J Oshie getting his 5th goal in the play offs. Oshie's goal came in the second period and the Capitals owned that the scoreboard with Williams scoring the Capitals 3rd mid-way through.

Some people have raised a question about whether Murray should sit the next game and Fleury should play but I don't see why that is even a topic. Sure, Murray had a .842SV% on 19 shots but none of the goals were his fault. He didn't play badly, if anything, he kept the Penguins at least within touching distance for most of the game. Changing the goalies would not help at all. The Penguins need to ride Murray until they are forced to make a change or really need to.

The Penguins biggest problem in this game is one that has been seen in the play offs briefly at times. They are able to get shots on net and take a large number of shot attempts but at times struggle to convert. In Game 6 they need to come out heads up and guns blazing to crush any push by the Capitals. A Game 7 could be suicidal.

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Pens rally without Letang, win 3-2 in OT

Game 4 was huge. The Penguins were missing both their number 1 and number 2 defencemen in Kris Letang and Olli Maatta. This was a game that the Capitals had to win to get home ice advantage back in the series with the following three games possible. Instead the Penguins stood firm, dug deep and got the win in Overtime to end 8 straight play off over time losses.

The Capitals came out strong in this game, they had to. They needed to put pressure on the defence early and ride their goaltender out to a win. Beagle got the Capitals off to the perfect start just a few minutes in with a back-hander that went over Murray's shoulder from nearly a 90 degree angle from the goal. It was a bit lucky but the Capital deserved it for their early presence.

Some teams would struggle to come back from an early goal but the Penguins went right up the other end and started pressuring Holtby in net, Malkin whiffing on an open net chance. This just before the Penguins levelled off a bouncing puck that Daley had shot towards the goal. Crosby earned his first point of the series on the goal stopping him going four games without a point.

For the rest of the game the two teams kept close and both traded blows in the second period to leave it tied 2 apiece. Matt Cullen continued his incredible season by scoring his third post season goal just 3 minutes into the second period. He raced to a dumped in puck off a face-off and hit a shot past Holtby in close. 

John Carlson tied it up after converting on a turnover by Derrick Pouliot and rifling a shot past Murray. The game headed to a climactic ending and became the second game of the season to go to overtime. In Game 1 the Capitals won 4-3 on Oshie's wraparound. This time round Patric Hornqvist scored after Weber failed to clear and he slotted it through Holtby's five hole. 

The game was huge as it meant the Penguins could push the Capitals to the brink and potentially eliminate them on Saturday at Verizon Center. The Penguins will have Letang and possibly Maatta back. Hopefully, the Penguins can end it and get some rest ahead of the Eastern Conference Final. If they get there.

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Pens hold on to win Game 3, lose Letang for Game 4

The Washington Capitals put in their best game yet and came away with a loss to the Penguins in Game 3 to the score of 3-2. Matt Murray put in his best performance to date stopping 47 of the Capitals 49 shots, including 35 straight before Ovechkin broke the shut-out 8 minutes into the third period.

Despite being outshot 49 to 23 and outhit 58 to 25 the Penguins had the better start and scored two goals exactly a minute apart, the first coming after 6 minutes and 37 seconds. Patric Hornqvist scored his 4th goal of the play offs to get it going. Crosby's original shot was lost as it went in the air and Conor Sheary picked it up along the boards. He quickly passed it out to Daley who shot from the point and it ended up being deflected in by Hornqvist. The exact place you expect to find Hornqvist.

The second goal was, to be frank, a very lucky one. Letang was involved with a pass up the ice that split the Capitals defence to Matt Cullen. Cullen and Kuhnhackl advanced in a 2 on 1 and Cullen's pass which was intended for Kuhnhackl's stick was deflected up and in off his back. They all count. The third goal was the work of a heavy forecheck that created a turnover which  Kessel picked up. He passed the puck to Bonino who was open in front of Holtby. Instead of shooting he chose to go around Holtby and slot it back to Hagelin for the easy finish. Carlson took exception and whacked Hagelin as he skated past to celebrate.

Despite being in a 3-0 lead the Capitals continued to fight back and Ovechkin finally converted for them to score on their 36th shot of the game. He took a shot from just outside the circle which beat Murray, even with his fast glove hand. The goal gave the Capitals a new drive and they pushed heavily to get another quickly. The Penguins defence kept them at bay brilliantly and was able to frustrate them until the last minute when Justin Williams scored to make the ending nervous. The Penguins held on though.

The biggest talking point of the game sadly wasn't a hockey play but a hit by Kris Letang on Marcus Johannson that resulted in Letang being banned for a game meaning he will miss Game 4 on Wednesday. Johannson skated into the defensive zone in the 1st period to play a pass. However, when doing this he kept his head down and then kept his eye on the pass. Letang hit him, fair to say Johannson didn't see him. However, the issue is that Letang hit him in the head and as someone who has been on the receiving end of those, he should know better.

I have no issue with the 1 Game suspension. I think it is fair. But it now makes Game 4 incredibly hard for the Penguins to win and the Capitals will be overwhelming favourites to win. If the Penguins are going to win they need to have Crosby appear, he's been far too quiet this series. They will also need Matt Murray to be on his best again. A win and a 3-1 lead going back to Washington would be huge for Pittsburgh.

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Pens tie series, head home 1-1

The Pittsburgh Penguins put in a dominant performance in Game 2 of the Series between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins to win 2-1 after a hard fought battle which pushed the Penguins to the limit and beyond. The Penguins relied again on Matt Murray to keep them alive and their depth to win it.

The Penguins fell short in Game 1 and didn't forgive themselves for their lack of effort in overtime. They came out of the blocks in this one and dominated the game defensively for the first two periods, restricting the Capitals to a measly 10 shots through the first 40 minutes. For the second game running Pittsburgh outshot the Capitals heavily.

The Penguins biggest player on defence was Kris Letang who logged over 35 minutes on the ice, his ice time was high mostly due to the poor hit that Brooks Orpik laid on Olli Maatta. Olli Maatta had passed the puck away and was turning but Orpik continued on his path and checked him in the head. It is likely Maatta has a concussion based on his reaction and inability to stand up without wobbling. Orpik has a hearing with the league and if they do their job they'll suspend him for a few games.

Despite having a large number of chances the Penguins failed to take them and were kept in check by a strong Braden Holtby in goal once more. The Penguins carried the puck and as a result drew a lot of penalties, however, despite having 5 power plays the Penguins failed to make them count.

The power play for the Penguins has been really poor in this series and have failed to convert on 7 straight power plays now. The biggest issue appears to be a lack of shots, they seem to be more inclined to pass rather than shoot. The Capitals penalty kill is good as they pressure heavily and take away the lanes but the Penguins are making it a lot easier by continually passing it around with threatening the goalie.

Pittsburgh did take the lead through a neat move involving Bonino again who dropped the pass from behind the net to Hagelin. Hagelin was open in front of Holtby and easily finished it. The Caps tied it on a rebound from Marcus Johansson 5 minutes into the third but could have tied it earlier were it not for Kuznetsov sitting on Murray's head and getting it disallowed.

The Penguins won it out of nowhere really, Eric Fehr scoring on a redirect in front the net off Malkin, who has been the best player for the Penguins offensively this series so far. To go back to Pittsburgh tied is what the team would have wanted and they will be confident on winning both when you look at how close they were to beating the Capitals in Game 1. This could easily be 2-0 Pittsburgh. Game 3 is on Monday. 8pm of course.

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